Dine Out: Slap Shotz in Raynham a pleasant surprise

Thursday

Apr 20, 2017 at 11:00 AMApr 21, 2017 at 3:06 PM

Try the hog tots.

Dan MedeirosThe Herald News

First impressions can make or break a night out at a new restaurant — particularly if you are, like me, picky, well versed in thinking up ways minor annoyances can become big problems, and already traveling through life at a medium level of irritation.

But when they’re wrong, it can be a great surprise. And so it was with Slap Shotz gastropub in Raynham, where my wife and daughter and I swung by for dinner one recent night.

I pulled into the parking lot, already miffed that they pluralized their name with a Z. I’m still not a fan. But bear with me a bit.

The three of us headed for the door, guarded at the time by a guy spitting onto the ground and exhaling extravagant cigarette smoke plumes into the air that the three of us had to waft through on our way in. The spit wasn’t great, but the smoke was worse. Smoke if you want, but leave me out of it. The rank sting in the nostrils instantly recalls bad childhood memories for me and my wife, in particular for her being locked with the windows rolled up in a hot, toxic car with her mother and aunt chain-smoking on the way to Christmas Tree Shops. It’s that specific.

Anyway. A weird whiff of disinfectant lingering by the door cured that, and soon the three of us were in a booth. The decor is standard sports pub. Have you been to one before? Like that. Along one wall was a cool mural for the Bridgewater-Raynham Trojans that my daughter kept turning around to point at.

The menu is where Slap Shotz rises beyond the level of its sports pub setting into a place worth seeking out. We just had sparkling water, but drinkers will find a thorough and unpretentious list of beers, Guinness floats, fancy martinis and margaritas, Moscow mules made with ginger beer, wines by the bottle or glass, and adult coffees. The bartender can whip up delicious-sounding specialty shots like the Oatmeal Cookie, with Bailey’s, coffee liqueur and Goldschlager, and the Breakfast of Champions made with Jameson, butterscotch and maple bacon, because we have to stick bacon in everything now. You will be reading the word “bacon” several more times here.

The apps include the usual slate of bar favorites like nachos and wings, and some more creative treats like chicken and waffle sliders with bacon and apple chutney ($10), mini haddock cakes ($9) and arancini, deep-fried risotto balls ($9). We settled on the hog tots, deep-fried tater tots topped with pulled pork, cheese sauce and bacon ($11). This required me to say the words “hog tots” out loud. Not sold on this name either.

In no time, the waiter brought over the, uh, H.T.’s, and immediately my viewpoint changed. It’s a corny name, and the concept of tater tots, cheese and barbecue dumped in a bowl sounds like it was meant to be paired with a night of Xbox and weed — but it tasted amazing. The tots were crunchy with a little bite, smothered in gooey cheese, and the pulled pork gave it all a delicious smoky and sweet finish.

There’s a variety of main course options. The sandwiches, burgers and pizzas seem like great options, with choices like the Jammin’ Blue burger with bacon jam, bleu cheese and fried banana peppers ($11), the prime rib baguette ($14), the scallops and bacon pizza ($16). They also have a range of pasta and rice bowls, like the buffalo chicken pasta ($12) or jambalaya with chicken, shrimp and linguica over basmati rice ($15).

For heartier appetites, main entrees are all stick-to-your-ribs type stuff like prime rib, steak tips and roasted half-chicken. The goat-cheese-stuffed chicken ($14) seemed intriguing, but eventually I went for the CBJ mac and cheese, with chicken, bacon and jalapeño peppers ($14), while Mrs. Dine Out picked the coffee-rubbed ribeye steak with a Guinness reduction ($23). Steak lovers will like this: you can order it any temperature you like ranging from well done down to “Jeff rare” — “waved over a fire.” Jeff’s my kind of guy.

My kid kept herself busy with a kids’ meal of chicken and fries ($6) while we waited a bit — the wait staff seemed to be splitting their time between the bar and tables since I overheard someone say they were short that night.

My wife’s steak arrived plated beautifully on a butcher block slab instead of a plate, complemented with fries, some greens, and heaps of wonderfully sauteed pea pods. My dish wasn’t as nicely dressed up, but when you’re ordering what looked like a whole box of pasta, you don’t need it to look spiffy.

I dug deep into my dish of pasta. The elbows were nice and firm, and the cheese sauce was a good consistency, not too pasty or runny, with a pungent flavor I found enjoyable. The jalapeños added a touch of aftertaste spiciness but not too much heat, which is fine by me. Buried in the pasta were respectably-sized chunks of chicken and whispers of bacon. After I’d been eating for a while, you could’ve rearranged everything in the bowl and still passed it off as an oversized serving. I took most of it home.

The steak was a glory. My wife had it not quite Jeff-rare but close, tender and bloody, with a pleasant bitterness in the crust from the coffee rub. I didn’t get to try much — she was busy making it vanish. The pea pods were flavorful, too, seared to toasty perfection with a snap and bite that proved they were fresh. We talked about them on the car ride home. When’s the last time you left a bar talking about the pea pods?

As impressive as the food was, I was too full for dessert — but I desperately wanted to try one. I had them whip me up a batch of s’mores risotto ($8), a chocolate rice pudding with marshmallow and graham cracker, and packed it to go. It’s probably a beauty when plated properly, but after a half-hour car ride home it looked like brown glop. But such glop! The risotto was mildly sweet and cooked to a creamy texture, with a delicate mocha chocolate flavor that was delicious and not overpoweringly sugary.

Before tip, and thanks to a half-price deal on the app, the tab came to just $57. It’s a good feeling when you go into a place and your expectations are totally proven wrong. Try the hog tots.

Dine Out’s reviewer visits restaurants unannounced and at his or her discretion. The newspaper pays for the meals reviewed. The reviews merely reflect one diner’s experience. Ratings range from 1 to 5 stars.